Under The Spell Of A Phantom
Seventeen: Fight To The Death.
Ruby awoke all the sudden, instanly remembering where she was and what happened.
Turning her head, her eyes lay on Eleanor who was stirring from her slumber.
"Oh mother!" She cried, rushing to her side wrapping her arms across her cold body.
"Ruby! I thought you were gone for good!" Eleanor said, tearfully.
"No, I'm not going anywhere. But you must stay here while I find Erik."
A frown went across her mother's face. "Who is Erik?" She asked.
Ruby stared at her deeply. "He's the man I've fallen in love with." She replied.
Opening my eyes slowly, my thoughts returned to Ruby.
My God, I hope she wasn't dead! If she was, Mr Johnson will pay for his life!
With all my strengh, I pulled and twisted against the ropes but they were done extra tight.
I moaned and growled at my lack of breaking free until a sinster chuckle appeared behind me.
"Such a shame that the great Phantom Of The Opera can't escape this time." He said, stepping out of the darkness.
My eyes burned hatred flames back at him as he circled around me one too many times to push my temper to overdrive.
"Oh, wouldn't it be lovely to see Ruby's hurt face once more when she discovers the real truth of how you came here."
"She won't, not when I'm around." I said, gritting my teeth. He stopped in front of me, his hand in contact against my cheek.
The stinging was a dull ache, not enough to make me surrender to the pain. "She will, I'll make sure of it!" He hissed in my ear.
Ruby undid the ropes to free Eleanor and the shopkeeper who was breathing very slowly.
"Mother, take him to someone who can help him and then go to the police." She ordered her.
"But Ruby, what about you?" Eleanor asked, still having that worried frown across her face.
"I'm going to save Erik." She replied, kicking down the door and helped her mother to drag the man's body out.
"Now go!" Ruby cried, pointing at the door. Before Eleanor did, she grabbed her daughter for a quick embrace.
Looking at each other's eyes like they understood what was going to happen, they parted for hopefully not the last time.
Hearing the sound of cracking wood bought a wicked grin across my face. It had to be Ruby.
Mr Johnson was in a rage, shouting and cursing in French while looking for something.
A bright light caught my attention and horror, it was a sharp pointed dagger!
"No, don't you dare!" I shouted, struggling through these blasted ropes.
He turned to look at me with such a evil glare that even I was deeply unsettled.
"Oh yes, I do dare!" He replied, coming towards me in a alarming manner.
With a rise of his hand, he slashed me across my chest. I winced in pain as blood began to ooze.
"If she does surrive, she can see that you have died in this chair failing to save her." He said, pointing the dagger at my face.
With all my might, I slammed my leg against his groin but he didn't fall or drop the weapon strangely. He slashed me once more on the chest and left the room.
My God, he's going to kill her! There was nothing I could do other than wait and pray that she will fight to the death against him.
Ruby's eyes fell on a gun that laid under the til, it was fully loaded with four bullets in the holes.
Luckily enough, her father taught her how to shoot when she was five years old.
But there wasn't time to think back of the past, she had to save Erik.
All the sudden, Mr Johnson appeared with a murderous look in his eyes.
"How dare you let them escape?" He roared, rising the dagger up so that she could see it.
Ruby pointed the gun at him, her shaky fingers near the trigger. "Drop the weapon or I'll shoot!" She shouted.
"Never, not until you know the truth of how Erik came here!" He cried, with a sneer.
"I do not wish to know, Mr Johnson." Ruby replied.
"He's my son! My bastard son that I wanted dead from his whore of a mother!" He snapped.
Her eyes widened with terror, the sudden outburst made her less confident with the gun.
"You're lying!" She cried. He shook his head, chuckling until it grew to a full blown laugh.
"I never lie, Ruby. I found him in my home a weeks before the masked ball, seeing his monsterous face again bought back so many haunted memories." He said, coming closer to her.
"So I gave him a choice: he could stay and never reappear or it's staight to the police after he told me his heartbreaking story. I was that foolish to keep him around but when your mother came around, I changed my mind and soon forgot about him until you discovered him. That's why I want you dead so I can frame the infamous Phantom Of The Opera for a another murder this time in a different town."
"No, I will not die!" She screamed, pulling the trigger. Everything went so fast, the loud shot and the sound of a blade meeting flesh.
Mr Johnson stumbled back, placing a hand on his bleeding stomach. His eyes rolled backwards as he collasped on the floor, dying within mere seconds.
Ruby couldn't believe that she killed him but it didn't matter now, what did was finding Erik.
She entered the room to find him, sitting there with two large slashes across his chest.
"Oh my love, please wake up!" Ruby cried, cupping his cheeks. He slowly opened his eyes to lay on hers, a long smile appeared across his face.
"Ruby..." He sighed as she undid the ropes and helped him up from the chair. They embraced each other and was about to kiss until a sharp pain caught her.
"My darling, what's wrong?" Erik cried, only to his horror that a large patch of blood was at her side. She looked at him in pure fear.
"Erik!" She whispered before falling to the floor, letting the dark oblivion overtake everything.
